


The Kid From Yesterday

by newbuddiefan



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Angst, Bisexual Buck, First Kiss, Fluff, Friendship, Getting Together, M/M, Mutual Pining, Teasing, buck was an emo kid, eddie doesn't know buck is bi, light bullying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-04-13
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:35:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23627794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/newbuddiefan/pseuds/newbuddiefan
Summary: Photos of Buck’s emo phase make their way around the 118. Teasing ensues. Buck is embarrassed and slightly triggered but Eddie makes him feel better about it.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley & Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz, Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Maddie Buckley/Howie "Chimney" Han
Comments: 10
Kudos: 355





	The Kid From Yesterday

**Author's Note:**

> Someone on twitter kept posting gifs of Oliver in Mindgamers and it made me remember I have a head canon that Buck was an emo teenager. Also, I think someone's done emo Buck before so if you read this, please hit me up with your fic so I can read it!

“And this is a photo of us from when we all went to New York,” Maddie says, holding up a picture of her family to Chimney. She had some personal time off and decided to do some redecorating. While doing so, she’d found boxes of family photos. Chimney had come over for dinner but instead he found her on the living room floor surrounded by photo albums and loose pictures.

“Wait, who’s that?” Chim asked, pointing at the black haired teen standing sullenly next to Maddie’s father.

“That’s Buck.”

“That is not Buck!”

Chimney took the photo out of Maddie’s hand, bringing it closer to his face. The boy in the picture was around 16, wearing black skinny leg jeans, black converses and a black My Chemical Romance hoodie. The darker hair was obviously a home job, the long side fringe hanging down one side of the boy’s face. But despite the clothes and the hair, the kid was undeniably Evan Buckley. He had those ocean blue eyes, a birthmark above one, and those distinctive pink lips in a pout.

“Holy shit, that’s Buck!” Chimney laughed.

“Yeah, this was during his emo phase when he was a teenager. I never quite understood it. He looked like that until he was a senior and then before he went off to college, the black hair was gone and he wasn’t dressed in his usual Hot Topic wardrobe,” Maddie said, looking over at Chim who could not take his eyes off the photo.

“I need to keep this.”

“You are not keeping my family photos,” Maddie scoffed, yanking the photo out of Chimney’s hand.

“Please, at least let me borrow it,” Chimney begged, “I need to show Hen and Eddie this.”

“No, you can’t take the photo. But,” Maddie said, a small smile playing on her lips, “I’m not stopping you going back to 2008 in Buck’s Facebook pictures.”

Chimney jumped up from the floor, almost tripping over his feet as he grabbed his phone from his jacket that was hanging by the door. Maddie stood up, heading to the kitchen to start cooking dinner. After ten or so minutes, Chimney burst through the doorway.

“I hit the jackpot,” he said, a wide smile on his face. Maddie laughed, heading over to see pictures she hadn’t seen in over ten years. Buck with his friends at the mall decked out in skinny jeans and band shirts, outside of concert venues for bands he hadn’t listened to in years and yep, you guess it, one eye, long fringe selfies.

“Ok Chim, calm down,” Maddie said, putting her hands on his chest, “Maybe only save a couple of those to show. As much as I love teasing Buck, he’s still my brother and he doesn’t deserve all of those out to be shown.”

“You’re right,” Chimney said, leaning over to give Maddie a quick kiss, “I’ll pick my favourite two and then tomorrow, the whole team will see emo Buck. He thought he could get away with eating half my lunch the other day? Boy, was he wrong. This is revenge at its finest.”

“You really need to work on letting go of your grudges,” Maddie said playfully.

“I will, tomorrow. After my shift. Right now, I have dinner to help my lovely girlfriend cook,” Chimney smiled at Maddie, giving her another kiss.

~~~~~~~~~

“This cannot be real!”

Hen’s laughter could be heard throughout the station. Buck bounded up the stairs, ready to find out what had everyone in stitches and why it couldn’t wait until his shift started so he too could participate.

“The fringe is too much, he really committed to this lifestyle!” Hen said through her laughter.

“What’s so funny?”

No one had seen Buck approaching the kitchen table, they were all too busy passing Chimney’s phone around. They all looked up at the sight of Buck, their faces frozen as they realised who it was. Silence filled the air until Eddie let out a small laugh, covering his mouth with his hand. It didn’t do anything but make everyone burst out laughing again. Even Bobby was finding it difficult to suppress a smile.

“Guys, come on. What are you laughing at?” Buck asked, taking an empty seat next to Chimney.

“Oh, nothing. We were just wondering, did you hear My Chemical Romance are getting back together?” Eddie asked him, pressing his lips together to stop them parting into a smile.

“Huh?” Buck asked, the confusion evident on his face.

“Yeah Buck, maybe you could crack out that hoodie from 2008. I don’t think it will fit any more though,” Hen giggled.

“Those skinny jeans sure don’t,” Chimney joked, “But plenty of time to grow out that old fringe again.”

“Once it’s at its full length, my cousin is a hairdresser. I’m sure she’d love to dye it black for you,” Eddie said, his face breaking into a smile.

Realisation hit Buck and his heart dropped. How did they know? Ok, so he had never deleted the photos from his Facebook, but why on earth had anyone gone back ten years to look at pictures of him? He looked around the table, trying to find the suspect. His face landed on Chim, it had been his phone they were passing around.

“How did you know?” Buck asked quietly.

“Maddie had some photos laying around last night, I was very confused as to who the black haired kid was in them. Turns out that scrawny emo was you,” Chimney said, a smug look on his face, “Don’t steal my food again.”

Chimney handed his phone to Buck, letting him see the two photos he had from Buck’s teenage years. The photos themselves weren’t bad at all. Everyone had horrible pictures of them from different phases of life. It was the memories behind them that had Buck reeling, his mind taking him back to those teenage years.

Buck was never a popular kid. He was tall, skinny and had a birthmark over his eye, all of which made him the target of bullies through elementary and middle school. It didn’t help that he also realised he was bisexual and made the mistake of telling his family. Other than Maddie, none of them had been supportive. In the summer between middle and high school, Buck had discovered new genres of music. It became his safe haven, letting him know that there were others out there that were hurting the same way he was and dealing with the same crap the world had tossed their way. He reached out to the emo crowd from middle school asking for band recommendations and after that, they became close friends.

When it was time for college, Buck decided he wanted a start fresh. Before he left, he spent time working out, buying a whole new wardrobe and letting his hair return to its natural colour. His parents were happy, glad that he had grown out of this phase but Buck still wasn’t pleased with himself. He chose a school far away from his parents and the first day he arrived, Buck 1.0 was born. He spent a lot of time partying, hooking up with girls and guys and barely attending his classes. It was a miracle he even graduated at all.

After a summer working in a South American bar, he went off to LA with the hopes of joining the Navy Seals. When that fell through, Buck felt the same way he did in middle school. Lost and unsure about what to do with his life. Except now he was an adult and needed to get himself together. On a whim, he decided to train to be a fire fighter. Once he’d joined the 118, he knew he’s found what he was looking for. A home, a family… and Eddie.

Buck can admit that at first, he was jealous of Eddie. But he knew deep down it wasn’t resentment, it was attraction. When he’d finally gotten over himself, he and Eddie became quick friends. What started as a work friendship blossomed into something more. They started hanging out outside of work, often with Eddie’s son Christopher. It had been a while since Buck felt any romantic feelings for someone, let alone a man. He was in denial for a long time, brushing off the butterflies in his stomach when they were with each other and turning away when he realised he’d let his eyes linger on Eddie’s lips as he spoke. He told himself that all those nights spent at Eddie’s, helping him with Christopher and just being there for him in general was what best friends do.

After the tsunami and the lawsuit, Buck decided to be honest with himself and admit that he was in love with his best friend. While he hated himself for going ahead with the lawsuit, he hated himself even more for pushing both Eddie and Christopher away from him. When Eddie told him that had forgiven him for it, Buck had felt a weight lift off his shoulder.

They were in a better place now and this was evident. If they weren’t, Eddie wouldn’t be teasing him like he was now with these pictures.

“Wow, all this over your half eaten lunch?” Buck asked, aware that he needed to go along with this to get it over with quicker, “You are savage.”

“Can I ask Buck, what eyeliner are you using in this second photo?” Hen had taken back Chimney’s phone and was busy pinching the screen to enlarge the photo, “Because boy, it is on point!”

“You’ll have to ask Maddie, it was hers. Speaking of Maddie,” Buck said, diverting his gaze back to Chimney, “Can you please let her know that I am never talking to her again?”

“Sure. I’ll also tell her not to expect her eyeliner back,” Chimney smirked.

“Ha ha,” Buck said dryly, “I uh, I just realised I left my phone in my car.”

Buck got out of his chair, turned on his heel and headed down the stairs. He didn’t stop until he had made his way out of the station, walking down the driveway to the car park. Once he was out of the stations view, he sat down on a low wall and took a deep breath.

~~~~~~~~~

“Ok guys, you’ve had your fun. Delete the pictures, Chim,” Bobby said as he watched Buck leave the fire house.

“Fine, I will. But did anyone else see that Buck’s phone was clearly in his front pocket? He didn’t leave it in the car,” Chimney replied, tapping the trash can image on the two photos of Buck.

Eddie had noticed that too, the outline of Buck’s phone clear as day in his pocket as he got up to leave the station. At first it was funny; these photos of Buck were not what Eddie was expecting when Chimney came into the station and said he needed to show everyone something. The teasing was meant to be light-hearted; after all, Buck was always poking fun at his friends in the same way. This was different though. Eddie saw how Buck’s face had dropped once he realised what was happening and it broke his heart. As the others continued to poke fun, Eddie couldn’t help but sit back and watch Buck. He made light of the situation but he was visibly uncomfortable, squirming in his seat as more jokes were made.

Eddie didn’t think he’d react this way, there had to be something more to this. When Buck stood up and left, Eddie almost called him back to make everyone apologise to him. You see, Eddie had a soft spot for Buck. Well, that’s what he told himself. Eddie had to come to terms with the fact that he was in love with Buck after the tsunami. No one else would have gone to the extent that Buck did when it came to Christopher that day. Eddie had already developed a crush on Buck but when he put his life on the line for son, he knew he’d found someone special. The lawsuit didn’t change that, it proved it. Because they couldn’t communicate, a void was opened up in Eddie’s life. He had lost his best friend for a bit and he turned to Lena for advice. That didn’t end well, she just told him to release his anger in a different way which led him down a path of street fighting.

Once the lawsuit ended and Buck tried everything to get Eddie to let him back in his life, he knew he had to forgive him. Mostly because he couldn’t live without Buck, even if it was just as a friend. That’s why Eddie had to go make sure Buck was alright.

“I’m gonna go check on him.”

Chimney and Hen exchanged a look, sly smiles playing on their faces.

“Yeah you do that. Make sure your boyfriend is ok,” Chimney winked.

“Chim, I think you’ve had enough fun for the day,” Bobby said before Eddie could even think of a comeback.

“Alright, fine,” Chimney replied, his hands held up as if to surrender.

Eddie just shook his head at both of them as he stood up, making his way down the stairs. He turned in the same direction Buck had, keeping an eye out for him as he walked the length of the drive way. He made his way to the staff car park and found Buck sitting on a low wall.

“Hey, you ok?” Eddie asked softly, taking a seat next to Buck.

“Yeah I’m ok,” Buck gave Eddie a small smile but it didn’t reach his eyes. Buck didn’t look like he’d been crying, he just looked sad.

“Are you sure?”

“I’m fine, I promise.”

“You look sad.”

“Didn’t you hear, Eddie?” Buck let out a dry laugh, “I’m an emo, sad is part of the description.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know those pictures would hurt you that much.”

“It’s not the pictures, I don’t care about those.”

“Then what is it?”

Eddie watch as Buck hesitated, his hands clasped tightly together between his knees.

“Hey,” Eddie whispered, his hand reaching up to Buck’s chin and lifting his face up so their eyes were level, “You can talk to me, you know that right?”

Buck’s breathe hitched. He opened his mouth to say something and then closed it again, nodding his head. Eddie took his hand away from Buck’s face, feeling like he’d taken this too far.

“Yeah I know. Seeing those photos just brought back some stuff for me.”

“Like what?”

“Oh you know, teenage stuff. That phase in my life was the first time I truly felt like people cared about me and that I wasn’t alone. I was bullied a lot in school because of how I looked and my sexuality and music was something I turned too. Those pictures just brought back a lot of bad memories of school that I’d rather not think about. But it wasn’t all too bad, I found some good friends and had some fun times when I was rocking skinny jeans and band shirts.”

“I get it. School sucks for a lot of people, kids can be horrible. I’m sorry that I laughed and made jokes, I never would have if I’d known it would make you feel like this,” Eddie said, “And look on the bright side, you ended up here. You’ve got people who care about you again.”

“I know, thanks Eddie,” Buck replied, giving Eddie a small smile, “It means a lot coming from you.”

“Of course. But wait, what do you mean when you said ‘my sexuality’?” Eddie asked, confused. As far as he was aware, Buck was straight. In the time he’d know him, he’d only been with women.

“I’m bisexual. I thought you knew that?” Buck said. Now it was his turn to look confused.

“What? No. Since when?” Eddie stuttered.

“Umm, since high school,” Buck had his eyebrow raised, questioning if Eddie was seriously asking him that.

“Oh.”

“That’s not an issue is it?” Buck asked. This time he looked worried, thinking that Eddie was about to tell him it was.

“Huh? No, not at all!” Eddie said quickly. He didn’t give a shit what Buck was, he was just trying to come to the terms with the fact that he actually had a chance with the other man.

“Good. I’m actually surprised you didn’t know.”

“Why?”

“Come on, Eddie. Are you telling me that you didn’t know I’ve been flirting with you for like a year?” Buck said with a smile that finally reached his eyes.

“No! When?” Eddie was so lost. Buck laughed, he was feeling bold now.

“Do you think I causally bump into all my guy friends when I walk down the street with them? Or that I go to their place like four nights a week just to eat dinner and watch movies with them and their kid? And are you really gonna make me mention that night in your kitchen when I asked if you wanted to ‘go for the title’? What did you think I was asking?” 

“I… I don’t know! There wasn’t a lot of cohesive thoughts running through my head at that point.”

Eddie was having a flashback to that night. It was the first time the two of them had a chance to sit down and talk through the lawsuit and the street fighting, Buck apologising for the millionth time and Eddie forgiving him again. When Buck had asked him to go for the title in the kitchen, stepping forward to close the gap between them, all Eddie could do was think about kissing him. And maybe he would have if Buck hadn’t stepped back, lifting the beer bottle to his lips, his eyes smiling at Eddie as he did so.

“So… you like me?” Eddie asked. He definitely could have worded that better but his brain was still working in over drive.

“Now that,” Buck cocked his head, his tongue poking out to lick his lips, “Is an understatement.”

Eddie didn’t know what to say. Instead, his hand reached up to cup Buck’s face, his thumb running across his cheek. The hand travelled down his neck and slipped around to the back, pulling the other man closer to him until their noses were touching.

“Great. Because I like you too,” Eddie whispered, his lips brushing against Buck’s as he spoke. Buck took that as an invitation and pressed his lips against Eddie’s, kissing him for the first time right there in the station’s parking lot. Buck’s lips were just as soft as Eddie had imagined and he loved the way they moved against his own.

A siren sounded in the background and they pulled away from each other.

“Kinda forgot we were at work for a second there,” Buck chuckled. If Eddie wasn’t mistaken, it looked like Buck was blushing, his cheeks covered in a light pink glow.

“You should come over tonight,” Eddie said as they stood up from the wall. Buck turned to look at him, one of his eyebrows raised suggestively. “No Buck, not like that. Join Chris and I for dinner and when he goes to bed, we can talk about us.”

“I’d like that,” Buck smiled, bumping his shoulder against Eddie’s as they headed back into the firehouse to gear up.

On the way to their call out, Hen and Chimney both apologised to Buck for teasing him but Eddie could tell that he was past the whole thing. He joked along with them, saying that he deserved it for that bad dye job and extra-long fringe. Eddie knew it was because Buck felt at ease now, that childhood bullying replaced with the feeling of being accepted by his fire family.

It was going to be a long day, Eddie thought, eager to get home to his son and to spend the night with his two favourite people. It helped that Buck was sitting across from him in the truck for every call out, giving him small smiles and touching his knee to Eddie’s. If the others had caught on, they didn’t show it and Eddie was grateful. The two of them had a lot to discus and he didn’t want the rest of the team knowing anything yet. But for now, Eddie was happy just knowing Buck felt the same way he did.

**Bonus:**

“Eddie, where are we going?” Buck asked from the passenger seat of Eddie’s truck.

“You’ll see, mi amor,” Eddie replied, placing his hand on Buck’s knee and giving it a reassuring squeeze.

It had been three months since they had kissed in the parking lot and Eddie couldn’t have been happier. Buck had come over that night and they talked about everything, from the day they first met through to when they knew they had feelings for one another. Buck talked about how meeting Eddie and Christopher had helped him realise what was important in life and made him want something he never thought he’d ever want, a family of his own. Eddie went on about how he not only got back together with Shannon for Christopher but because he thought it would help him get over his feelings for Buck. He talked about how despite the amount of pain her death caused him, it cemented his feelings for Buck because no one else was there for him like he was afterwards. Buck had spent the night but it didn’t go any further then kissing, they were just content with where they were in that moment.

It didn’t take long for the rest of the station to catch on, Chim slipping Hen money as she gloated that she knew they couldn’t wait til Christmas time when Chim was planning on getting them under the mistletoe.

Christmas was only a few days away but Eddie had to give Buck his present early. His cousin worked at the Shrine Auditorium and had helped Eddie get tickets to the hottest show in LA. As they drove down West Jefferson Boulevard, Eddie started to feel nervous. He didn’t know if this would be triggering for Buck or if it would bring back those happy memories from his emo kid days.

“Why is this street so packed?” Buck asked, opening the window to see if he could see anything up ahead. Instead, his eyes landed on the announcement board of the Shrine, the words My Chemical Romance and today’s date displayed.

“You’re taking me to see My Chemical Romance?”

Eddie looked over at his boyfriend, unable to read his face.

“Um, yeah… is that ok?” Eddie was second guessing himself now.

“I haven’t seen them since I was sixteen. I knew they got back together but the tickets sold out in seconds. How did you get them?”

“My cousin works here. I owe her big time for this,” Eddie let out an awkward laugh, still not sure what Buck was feeling.

“Holy shit… holy shit!” Buck yelled, his face lighting up. Eddie let out the breath he didn’t know he’d been holding in.

“This isn’t too much?”

“Absolutely not! Some of the best times I had as a teen were at concerts. I can’t even remember the last time I went to one.”

Buck was almost vibrating with excitement and that made Eddie smile. He turned into the venue car park, his cousin had also pulled some strings to make sure they had a spot. When they were out of the car, Buck ran around to Eddie and threw his arms around him.

“This is the best Christmas present,” Buck pulled away just enough to be able to kiss Eddie.

“You’re welcome, Evan,” Eddie said tenderly, kissing Buck once more before taking his hand. “We’re already cutting it close so we better get inside.”

Buck was so excited that he almost dragged Eddie through the parking lot. They claimed their tickets at the box office and headed inside the venue.

“I’m gonna get a shirt!” Buck said but as he did, the lights in the venue dimmed and the crowd erupted in screams.

“Stay here, I’ll go,” Eddie said.

He kissed Buck’s cheek and walked over to the merch stall. The line had disappeared now that the intro was playing so Eddie quickly purchased a commemorative shirt for Buck. The band had taken to the stage, the chords of their first song filling the venue as Eddie made his way back to his boyfriend. Buck gave him a big smile before diverting his gaze back to the stage. For the next hour and a half, Eddie watched entranced as Buck sang along to every song. He didn’t think he’d ever seen the other man like this, the smile never leaving his face. Eddie’s heart filled with nothing but love, glad that he could make Buck this happy after such a rough year.

When the show ended, Buck turned to Eddie, embracing him.

“I love you so much, Eddie. Thank you.”

“I’d do anything for you.”

“I know,” Buck smiled, kissing Eddie as the crowd parted around them.

“Let’s go home,” Eddie said, taking Buck’s hand.

“Please. I want to show you how grateful I am for this,” Buck winked and took the shirt out of Eddie’s hand, “But I have to tell you, the My Chemical Romance shirt stays on during sex.”

Eddie let out a laugh so loud that other patrons looked over at him.

“Deal.”


End file.
